Three-quarters of bookshop customers in the U.K. and Ireland "intend to sustain their spending on books over the next 12 months, despite the cost of living," according to a new report from the Booksellers Association and Nielsen. The survey, Counting the Costs: How the Cost Crisis Is Affecting Bookshops, polled 1,000 bookshop customers in September, "collecting data on how the cost of living crisis is expected to impact spending habits in bookshops over the next 12 months," the Bookseller reported.
In other survey results, two-thirds of customers said they believe books are either good (45%) or excellent (20%) value for money, while 80% said they are likely to support their local bookshop if the cost of living stays high, though some will seek discounts and 30% might buy fewer books overall.
Nearly half of those polled said they would consider switching spending from other leisure activities, including holidays and entertainment, to allow them to buy more books, the Bookseller wrote. Looking ahead to Christmas, 88% of gift buyers for adults and 90% of gift buyers for children expect to buy the same or more books in the run up to the holidays and over the next 12 months.
The report also indicated, however, that young customers, those with children and people most affected by the cost-of-living crisis plan to reduce their spending on books, with up to 30% expecting to buy fewer next year.
BA managing director Meryl Halls said: "Bookshops in the U.K. are currently under a huge amount of pressure due to the cost of living/cost of doing business crisis, and while this report shines a light on the ways in which many customers will sadly need to reduce their spend on books over the coming months, it is encouraging to see that a significant majority intend to continue supporting their local bookshop.
"Books offer excellent value for money. During the 2008 financial crisis, and during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, book sales increased across numerous genres. We very much hope that this will be the case in the challenging coming months, and that customers will choose bookshops for making their purchases."
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Seven months after Oleg and Aleksandra Chernousova fled from Russia to Turkey "to get themselves and their 11-year-old daughter far away from Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine," they opened Black Mustache, a bookstore in the fashionable Moda district of Istanbul, Turkey, Reuters reported. The shop, which "sells books on photography, fashion and design, including some in Russian," marks "the start of a new life in a new city they once thought would just be a temporary home."
"The store is pocket-sized, not big, but we hope it will have a long and happy life," said Oleg Chernousova, who has been able to build on the experience he gained managing a similar store in St. Petersburg, where books were always a big part of the couple's life.
"When Oleg and I started dating, in Russia we called it the candy-and-flower period, he offered me some books," Aleksandra Chernousova said, adding that when they fled, they had to leave most of them behind. "That's why I feel so good that we're doing a bookstore, because the books and the bookshelves we had in Russia mean a lot to me. They were a source of inspiration and without them, I felt alone, I felt lonesome. Now I feel better."
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One fourth of Swedes have listened to at least one audiobook in past year. The European & International Booksellers Federation's Newsflash reported that the Svenskarna och internet (Swedes and the Internet) survey showed that 24% of Swedes have listened to at least one audiobook in the past year, with 11% doing so monthly, and 6% listening to audiobooks on a daily basis. Only 12% of Swedes reported having read at least one e-book during the past year, with only 5% reading e-books every month. The survey also shows that Swedish women are more avid readers than Swedish men, both when it comes to audiobooks and e-books. --Robert Gray